T

he number of illegal immigrants entering Indonesia through North Sumatra continues to increase, heightening concerns over potential issues that may arise in the province as a result of the trend.

Local immigration office data said that over 2,300 illegal immigrants entered the country though North Sumatra within the last 10 years, hailing from Myanmar, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Pakistan and Syria, among other countries.

The year 2014 alone saw around 1,100 illegal immigrants enter the province.

Head of the immigration office in Medan, Zaeroji, said that his office could not do anything to stop illegal immigrants from entering, nor could it send them home on account of a UN regulation.

'€œWe cannot send them back to their countries of origin, especially those that are in conflict or involved in war,'€ Zaeroji said.

He said illegal immigrants were currently being accommodated in 17 different detention centers across Medan city, the provincial capital of North Sumatra.

Chairwoman of the Medan Legislative Council'€™s (DPRD) Commission A, which is overseeing the matter, Ratna Sitepu, said the city was a '€œheaven'€ for illegal immigrants.

This, according to Ratna, was because they received free food at the detention centers at the expense of donor institutions, influencing an increasing number of illegal immigrants to seek refuge in Medan.

'€œThis situation could act like a time bomb. There is a possibility that illegal immigrants will continue to come, creating new problems in Medan, including security-related ones,'€ Ratna said.

She urged the Medan city administration and other related government institutions to discuss the matter to prevent foreseeable issues.

It was reported earlier this month that local authorities arrested 18 illegal immigrants from Bangladesh at Tanjung Balai Seaport in North Sumatra.

They were sent to the Belawan immigration detention house in Medan for further investigation.

Tanjung Balai Water Police Unit chief Adj. Comr. Bahdaruddin said the police arrested them while patrolling the Asahan River. They were on board a ship with a local captain from Tanjung Balai.

'€œThey were hiding in the ship'€™s hull,'€ Bahdaruddin said, Friday.

He confirmed that Indonesia was the final destination of the arrested illegal immigrants.

'€œThey departed on board a ship from Bangladesh for Indonesia without a visa by paying Rp 7 million [US$544.4] per person,'€ Bahdaruddin said.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of July 2014, there were 10,116 undocumented migrants or illegal immigrants in Indonesia. However, the exact number is believed to exceed that figure. Some 6,286 of them were asylum seekers, while the rest were refugees. Most immigrants are in Indonesia transiting before resuming their journey to their final destination, Australia.